To me, "Blue" will always be Gary Oak. It kinda annoys me when people consider Blue and Gary Oak to be separate characters because they're not, they're the same person but in different forms of media. But for the sake of arguing I'll call him Blue. Either way, once again, another character that isn't quite a villain as there aren't many villains in Pokemon (apart from Team Rocket anyway) but Blue is a pain in the butt. No matter how many times you beat him he consistently belittles you and brags about how awesome he is. And his theme song while quite cool, is annoying as well as you know that trouble is ahead when you hear it. And that quiff moving?! Jeez. Anyway. Yeah, Blue/Gary Oak deserve a place in this list just because it's nice to slap the smirk off his face every time you beat him.#39: The GhostsOther Names:Blinky, Pinky, Inky and ClydeDebut Game and Year: Pac-Man (1980)Famous Quote?: NoneOther Appearances: Ms. Pac-Man, countless other Pac-Man titles

Yes. They had to be included. Some of the first villains in video game history are the four ghosts that act like hounds trying to viciously murder and dismember Pac-Man and send him to his grave. Trust me, if they remade this game now it'd be an 18. Okay, maybe a bit dramatic but... yeah... anyway, you can't help but love and hate The Ghosts in Pac-Man. They're a pain in the butt but are a iconic set of evil baddies in video game history and will always be remembered as some of the most annoying yet lovable cute ghosts ever created.#38: Lisa Trevor

Once again sorry to say but the definition of "villain" is blurred with this entry. Maybe I shouldn't have called this a list of villains as it's not completely true? I hope you understand each entry regardless of the logic of the word. Because, Lisa Trevor is no villain. She's a victim.Lisa Trevor was chosen as the human test subject for pretty much any Umbrella virus going back before the events of the series. She turns into a monstrous abomination, one that is practically impossible to kill. She had an obsession with faces, and ripped many of the employees off, and kept them for "safe keeping". She wanted to see her mother again but Umbrella killed her. All she wanted to do was give her mum back her face.When you encounter Lisa in the remake of Resident Evil, she truly is a scary, horrible thing to see with your own eyes. You can't kill her, no matter how hard you try, and it's best to try and avoid her at all times you come into contact with her. Her entry in this list of villains is about the times you see her in the game, how memorable she is as a monster and entry into video game history.#37: Knuckles

Other Names:Knuckles the EchidnaDebut Game and Year: Sonic 3 (1994)Famous Quote?: NoneOther Appearances: Sonic and Knuckles, Knuckles Chaotix, Sonic Adventure, Sonic Heroes, any many more titles

Now obviously since the first game Knuckles isn't a bad guy. In fact, he's a good guy. But, take Sonic 3 for what it is, on it's own, even without Sonic and Knuckles being attached to the game, and Knuckles is a villain. And a pain in the arse villain at that. He does everything he can to stop Sonic from going about his business to defeat Dr Robotnik and save the animals. Obviously the bigger picture is Robotnik has tricked Knuckles into believing that Sonic is the bad guy and to go after Sonic, but either way, Knuckles in Sonic 3 (and Sonic and Knuckles, until he comes to his senses) is a pain in the butt and you just want to smack him.#36: Dr Zomboss

Other Names:Dr Edgar ZombossDebut Game and Year: Plants vs Zombies (2009)Famous Quote?: "...unless you comply, we will be forced to take extreme action." - part of Dr. Zomboss' letter to the playerOther Appearances: Plants vs Zombies 2: It's About Time

Dr Zomboss is an incredibly intelligent zombie and main villain of the Plants vs Zombies game. All the other zombies are brain dead and write letters with terrible grammar threatening the player to surrender their brans to the undead. Right at the end of the game Dr Zomboss appears and writes the player an incredibly well written letter and uses his vast knowledge and intelligence to battle you with his zombie army and operates a huge machine zombie to take your brains once and for all. Plants vs Zombies is a brilliant game, incredibly funny and Dr Zomboss is a great little villain and adds to these elements in the game.#35: Scissorman

If you've never experienced Clock Tower you really missed out. Long before Nemesis and Pyramid Head stalked players in horror games we had Scissorman back in 1995. He was only a little nine year old boy, but Scissorman was as scary as fuck back in the day. That animated picture above does not do justice to this. He would come out of nowhere, and stalk you with those long shears, killing other people off in the game one at a time to get to you. And with the way you play the game, getting away from Scissorman was not always easy. Scissorman for me is one of the best stalker villains of all time and most people who have played Clock Tower will agree with me.#34: Seifer

Seifer on the surface is a bratty teenager who bullies the other people in Balamb Garden (the school in the game). But as the game progresses, and the characters turn from students to young fighters that determine the fate of the world, battling in loads of fights and a few wars to boot, he turns into a more than capable knight of a sorceress hell bent on taking over the world. He's cocky, rash, and has a personal vendetta against Squall, the main character and you just want to kick his arse throughout the game. Also, he kills Odin one of the most badass summon monsters in Final Fantasy history. That bastard!#33: Walter Sullivan

Silent Hill 4 received mixed reviews. In fact, since Silent Hill 3 most Silent Hill games have received poor to mixed reviews. However, I really liked SH4: The Room. I thought it had a great story but the gameplay was mediocre. But the story, and how it was layed out, was really good. And at the centre of the story was the villain, Walter Sullivan. Sure, we've had better stalker characters than Walter, and it's true, that his character isn't the most original creation. But I really enjoyed the experience of tangling with this screwed up lunatic, hell bent on murdering 21 people. There's more to the story than that, but that's the base. The movie "Seven" comes to mind when it comes to how you feel playing this game, Walter played the villain part fantastically well. I'd recommend you play SH4 if you haven't before, sure the graphics are a but mucky and the gameplay is okay, but the story is pretty damn good, and Walter's character is fun to unravel and take apart.#32: Black

Man it's so hard to find a good picture of Black. I was quite tempted to get an emulated version of the game and play it just to screencap him. Hey ho. Anyway, Black is by far the coolest villain the Gunstar Heroes game. His Dice Maze is one of my favourite all-time levels in any video game. Forcing the player to play games in his maze fortress, he hides himself for as long as he can. When you get through his maze, he has some pretty damn cool machinery to help him get rid of you. And the best part? When you defeat him for the first time, he gives you a fake gem and it explodes in your face! Black is an awesome villain and his appearances in the game are some of the most memorable parts.#31: G. Ceara

Mind my language but what a prick. No, not the legitimate Ayton Senna, but G. Ceara in the Super Monaco GP game. Back when I was a kid, I struggled and won the World Championship in the Formula 1 season. By doing so you get to defend your title. But there's a returning driver, absent from the previous season that becomes your main rival. His name is G. Ceara. He challenges you, and becomes almost impossible to beat. Then, he does it again. And by doing so you get dumped from your Formula 1 team, and are forced into a crappier car. Then you must struggle to defend your title in an inferior car. All because of this guy. I hate him. He always comes to mind when I think of villains I truly hate in video games. Sure, it's a Formula 1 game and not some evil dude trying to take over the world. But in this game, when G. Ceara becomes nigh on impossible to beat for the first two races, the feeling I had when I was a kid will stay with me forever. And that's why I love and hate this "villain".

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Why hello there. Yes it's been a while since I did my last listing. I felt spontaneously up for doing one the past few days and decided to just go full pelt with it. I've been doing so much DJ stuff recently that if I contemplated doing this listing then left it, it probably wouldn't have ever been done, or at least, for many years from now. So if you're wanting new freelance journalism from me rather than DJ shows, or for me to talk about video games rather than music, you're in luck!That being said I'm still doing my DJ stuff, just over this listing. See I can multitask! The next DJ show will be due up for Thursday/Friday time, so look out for that if you're interested.Anyhoo, back to the listing. As you can see by the title, this listing is going to be concentrating on my favourite villains in video game history. 50 to be exact. And I'll be covering this over a period of 50 days, one villain a day, so keep checking the site if you want to follow the countdown!The criteria for this listing is simple. The characters have to be in a video game, and be a villain, or at least, act in a villainous/anti-hero way for a good length in a game or series. And the final criteria, is that I've not included more than one villain from an individual title, but of course, if a villain is over a multitude of games in a series there will be villains that appear in the same game on this list.Also to give you the heads up is the fact that I've once done a list of Favourite Final Fantasy Characters before. And yes, there are a lot of FF characters in this list. But, hey, it's my list, and it's my favourite video game series of all time so why wouldn't there be? There's also a lot of Resident Evil characters.A final note: it's a biased list so don't get offended if certain villains aren't in the list (like Ganondorf, Big Boss and Bowser for instance, are not in this list). I either haven't played these games or am not as attached to these games or characters as most people are.So without further delay, let's start the listing!Note: There are possible spoilers in each entry so avoid them if you don't want to ruin any storylines.#50: OgreOther Names: True Ogre, Ancient Ogre, Monstrous OgreDebut Game and Year: Tekken 3 (1998)Famous Quote?: NoneOther Appearances: Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken Tag Tournament 2

That's Ogre from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 but even back in 1998 Ogre was something else. I'd never really seen a dragon-esque looking character look so amazing before, when this game came out. He's just an incredible specimen, and fighting as Ogre or True Ogre is a fun experience. Using the flame move of course is a highlight. While Ogre himself has not really had a big impact on the Tekken series as a whole, his role in Tekken 3 is great as you fight him in both forms one after another. He's not really much of a villain but more of a big bad boss that kicks arse and looks awesome.#49: Tom NookOther Names: NoneDebut Game and Year: Animal Crossing (2001)Famous Quote?: "...hm?" - at the end of practically every sentenceOther Appearances: Animal Crossing: Wild World, Animal Crossing: City Folk, Animal Crossing: New Leaf

Grrr. What a pain in the arse Tom Nook is. I suppose he's not really a villain as there aren't really any in Animal Crossing. But jeez, he's so annoying and, like I suppose, any landlord in real life, all he cares about is money, or more accurately, your money. As soon as you've paid for your house he gives you a bigger debt to pay for a bigger house. And it's just so frustrating! And he's quite arrogant as well. But, at least he helps you in the game, but it doesn't stop me calling him a villainous character, at least for Animal Crossing proportions.#48: The TankOther Names: NoneDebut Game and Year: Left 4 Dead (2008)Famous Quote?: NoneOther Appearances: Left 4 Dead 2

Once again, not really a villain but still a badass monster that is an absolute pain to deal with in the L4D series. And also, a bad guy with an awesome battle theme. Taking on a tank is no easy feat. You and (hopefully) three of your teammates need to work together to take him down and he takes so much health before finally being taken down. You really need to experience a Tank battle to believe one.#47: Akuma

I don't know a single person who loves Street Fighter who doesn't love how much of an utter badass Akuma is. He's stupidly strong, stupidly evil and looks both as well. His moves are vicious and his super powers impressive. He truly is a villain that backs up his words with evil fury. He's not really a character that I like using much when playing Street Fighter, but I hate getting my arse handed back to me in pieces when getting beat by him, that's for sure.#46: Ba'GamnanOther Names: NoneDebut Game and Year: Final Fantasy XII (2006)Famous Quote?: "After them!" - chasing your party downOther Appearances: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

A personal choice, I'm more than aware, but Ba'Gamnan stands out so much as a character full of bland a set of characters as the sands you're forever venturing through in Final Fantasy 12. He's a simple yet perfectly created character; a big bully with smaller bullies who follow him through fear, he cares about very little but money and hurting people, and is a very successful and determined bounty hunter. He stalks Balthier for most of the game and comes up short in the end, however his finest moment is definitely early on in the Lhusu Mines, when he and his lackeys chase you out of the mines; it's pretty terrifying, not to mention that circular chainsaw looks pretty menacing.#45: Mr. XOther Names: NoneDebut Game and Year: Streets of Rage (1991)Famous Quote?: "You really want to die, don't you... I'll be happy to oblige!" - before the final battle commencesOther Appearances: Streets of Rage 2, Streets of Rage 3

A very traditional 16-bit villain, but still awesome all the same, is Mr. X of the Streets of Rage series. Lurking in the shadows, referenced throughout the game, causing chaos from the outskirts, the moment you finally see Mr. X in person is great. Just sitting there, in his grand chair, bringing in more and more lackeys to kick your butt and failing, he just looks brilliant. Mr. X laughs at every opportunity whilst beating you down, using his Tommy gun for added effect, everything about Mr. X is evil and awesome. I love Mr. X; he's the epitome of what makes a 16-bit villain great.#44: The DirectorOther Names: Lionel StarkweatherDebut Game and Year: Manhunt (2003)Famous Quote?: "You're really doing it for me! Why I ain't been this turned on since... Well, let's not go there..." - The Director "getting off" on Cash killing someoneOther Appearances: None

He may look like a fat piece of trash because he is. But you don't see what he looks like for the majority of the game, otherwise he's just this creepy voice, "guiding" you on a killing spree for his sexual fantasies. The Director is one sick bastard but despite all of that, he's one hell of a villain. Like a lot of villains, the justice given in killing him is all worth it. And the death scene is pretty disgusting of course, to be expected. The Director is a great, and certainly memorable villain in video game history.#43: Tiny TigerOther Names: Taz TigerDebut Game and Year: Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back (1997)Famous Quote?: "Crash! Leave the [crystals] for Tiny, or Crash get CRUSHED!" - warning Crash about collecting more crystals in Crash Bandicoot 3Other Appearances: Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped! Crash Team Racing, Crash Bash

I love Tiny, he's one of my favourite characters in the Crash Bandicoot series. He's a big lump of dumb muscle but says some great quotes, another being "Tiny squash too many cars!" in Crash Team Racing. His boss fighters are usually fun too. He's just a great minor villain in the Crash series and is easily memorable for kids playing these games for the first time.#42: GoldmanOther Names: Caleb GoldmanDebut Game and Year: House of the Dead 2 (1998)Famous Quote?: "Man committed a sin; disturbing the life cycle of nature. The original sin that man is responsible to! To protect the life cycle!" - before the final battle in House of the Dead 2Other Appearances: House of the Dead 4

Goldman is actually a decent little villain underneath the surface of hilariously bad voice acting. The House of the Dead series has some of the worst voice acting in video game history, particularly the second in the series. And Goldman is at the centre of it. The lines are absolutely butchered in bad voice acting it's truly a terribly funny sight to see. But underneath that, Goldman is a good little villain and is very similar in his long term scheme and logic behind his motivation; he wants the world cleansed of man because of the sins the human race have created. But in the end, Goldman is in this list because of the bad voice acting and how memorable he is in the second entry in the game.#41: Bryan FuryOther Names: NoneDebut Game and Year: Tekken 3 (1998)Famous Quote?: "Come on, scream for me! Cry out for your mommy! Do something instead of whimpering like a dog!" to Craig Marduk in Street Fighter X TekkenOther Appearances: Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken 4, Tekken 5, Tekken 6, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Street Fighter X Tekken

The reason Bryan is so far down on this list is because of the fact that there are not many villains, or rather, there are lots of villains in Tekken, take your pick. Most people in the series have a motive, not all of them evil, and Bryan is one of these people. However, I absolutely love Bryan, he's been consistently my favourite person to play as whenever I play Tekken. His moves are so brutal and he's so hard to stop once you get him kicking butt. But yeah, I can't really place him much higher in the list as he's not an "super dooper evil" guy, just a selfish, destructive robot humanoid who wants to be the strongest thing in the universe. So that's why I place him at #41 in my list of video game villains.

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Why hello there. Back again with another show I am. Don't know why I'm writing like Yoda. Anyways, this show is a Christmas Special. It's a mixture of Rock and Christmas themed songs, then Metal and Christmas themed songs.Any feedback is appreciated if you listen to the show, the link is below!

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Hello again. I've just done another show, which I can promise is weirder and has more requests than any other show so far.The Rock and Metal Double Feature Show (or it split into two parts) will be my regular show going forward. It mixes everything I love, music wise, and it's enough variety for you guys to put in your song requests.Any feedback is appreciated if you listen to the show, the link is below!

Friday, December 06, 2013

Note: This is my 250th post on my website. Woo.Hello again. Great news this week. I've managed to find a way to get my DJ shows online.I discovered (belatedly maybe? I dunno) a website called Mixcloud, which take pride in letting rookie or pro DJs upload their shows, without worrying about piracy or illegality issues, by proactively allowing royalties to go to the makers and creators of music for anything you upload. Meaning, I can broadcast my shows, and the artists get paid for it. It's win win.So, this week's show is my homage, to the Download Festival. I play headliners of old, play music for the headliners of next year, and give a special "hello" to other bands who may or may not deserve recognition, behind other artist at the top of each bill.So, you can listen to the show below, or go here, to view my Mixcloud account! I'll also put a link at the top bar for future references.Please support me if you like my stuff, and of course, send in any song requests for any future shows, anywhere; here, Facebook, Twitter, Mixcloud, where ever you fancy.All the best!